Portal:Fungi

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The Fungi Portal

A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and futher specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.

Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.

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Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, the indigo Lactarius or the blue Lactarius, is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Russulaceae. A widely distributed species, it grows naturally in eastern North America, East Asia, and Central America. In Europe, it has so far only been found in southern France.^[1] L. indigo grows on the ground in both deciduous and coniferous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with a broad range of trees. The fruiting body color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue-gray in older ones. The milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken—a feature common to all members of the genus Lactarius—is also indigo blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The cap is typically between 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in) broad, and the stem 2 to 8 cm (0.8 to 3.1 in) tall by 1 to 2.5 cm (0.4 to 1.0 in) thick. It is an edible mushroom, and is sold in rural markets in Mexico, Guatemala, and China.

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Phallus impudicus, commonly known as the common stinkhorn, is a widespread fungus recognizable for its foul odor and its phallic shape when mature, the latter feature giving rise to several names in 17th-century England. It is a common mushroom in Europe and western North America, where it occurs in habitats rich in wood debris such as forests and mulched gardens. It appears from summer to late autumn. The fruiting structure is tall and white with a slimy, dark olive colored conical head. Known as the gleba, this material contains the spores, and is transported by insects which are attracted by the odor – described as resembling carrion. Despite its foul smell, it is not poisonous and the young mushroom is consumed in parts of France and Germany.

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Credit: Dr. Holger Krisp

Thelephora palmata (commonly known as the stinking earthfan) is a species of clavarioid fungus in the family Thelephoraceae. It is found in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

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Did you know?

... that Lactarius pallidus is typically found half-buried in leaf litter at the base of beech or birch trees?
... that the mushroom Cortinarius triumphans has a cap which is slimy in wet weather and sticky in dry?
... that detection of fungal infection by the wood-decay fungus Fuscoporia torulosa can be performed in six hours using the polymerase chain reaction?
... that applying potassium hydroxide to the blue and yellow Australian mushroom Cortinarius rotundisporus will turn it pinkish-purple?
... that the first reported sighting of the bird's nest fungus Cyathus helenae was on mountain scree in the Canadian Rockies?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Psychotropic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 2
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 3
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 4Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 5
Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)
Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
Image 6Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 7Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 8Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 9Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 10Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 11Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ. (from Mycology)
Image 12Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 13The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 14Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 15Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 16
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
Image 17Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 18Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 19Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 20Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
Image 21The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 22Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 23Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 24Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 25Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
Image 26Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 27Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 28Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 29Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 30Agaricus bitorquis mushroom emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 31Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 32Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a cultivated edible mushroom for foods and has many names such as "champignon", " button mushroom", "white mushroom", and " portobello" (from Mushroom)
Image 33Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 34
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
Image 35Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
Image 36A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 37Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) has a glebal hymenium; the interior is white when it is young, but as it matures, the interior becomes brown containing spores (from Mushroom)
Image 38There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 39The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 40Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 41Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 42Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
Image 43Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey . This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 44A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 45Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 46Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)